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Monday, November 26, 2012

Sermon for Christ the King/Reign of Christ Year B, John 18:33-37

Sermon 11/25/12

John 18:33-37

In Between: Christ, the King

How many of you know what Christ the King or Reign of
Christ Sunday is? If, by chance, you do know what it is, is it anybody’s
favorite Sunday on the church calendar? I didn’t think so! Often, Christ the
King Sunday gets a bit neglected, because most years, it falls on Thanksgiving
Sunday, which isn’t technically even part of the liturgical calendar, but
usually takes precedence for Christians in the United States. If we have to
choose between Thanksgiving as a focus in worship and Christ, the King, we
usually choose Thanksgiving! I’m not complaining – we don’t do enough of
thanks-giving. But I am glad for these occasional years where the calendar
falls just so and there is a Sunday left between Thanksgiving and the start of
Advent, and Christ the King can stands on its own. It is the last Sunday of the
year, in terms of the church calendar, and next Sunday we begin anew, with a
new church year on the First Sunday of Advent.

Actually, Christ the King Sunday is a relatively new
addition to the Christian calendar. In 1925, Pope Pius XI announced a new feast
day, the Feast of Christ the King. He said that he felt that the rise of
atheistic communism and secularism were a direct result of people turning away
from Jesus’ sovereignty, and of people denying the authority of Jesus and the
Church. He saw it as a move away from Divine Order in favor of human order,
which he called disorder. So, this Reign of Christ Sunday is about
reclaiming Jesus’ place of authority in our lives. Throughout the scriptures,
we hear God called our King, hear Jesus described this way. We have plenty of
hymns in our hymnals that use this language for the divine. But what does that
mean for us?

I think
it is a particularly interesting and challenging question in our American context.
After all, as a nation, we rebelled against having a king. No longer wanting to
be under the absolute authority of a monarchy, but desiring instead to
participate in a democracy, was a primary component of our founding. We fought
wars over it, this right not to be ruled by a king. Sure, maybe lately, with
the stylish, young, and admirable William and Catherine marrying last year,
people are suddenly a little more intrigued by the idea of royalty. But mostly,
we seem, as a society, to be more into Disney princesses and their costumes
than in submitting to the authority of a king.

Still, we all have to submit to forms of authority,
right? Even if we don’t have a king, governments still exert authority over us.
We pay taxes, right? We follow laws, or are punished or fined for our failure
to follow. And we have authority figures in many other places too. We have
bosses – or bishops! We have teachers and principals. We have parents and
grandparents. All these people might be in positions of power over us, at least
in some matters, able to tell us what to do. They have power. They have
authority. We can push the boundaries of that authority – can and do. We can
reject it, but usually not without major consequences.

So when we talk about Jesus as a King – what does that
mean to us? How do we, independent people, private, prizing our individualism
and autonomy, let someone be our king? What does that mean, exactly? Let’s take
a look at our text:

Although next week we suddenly find ourselves thinking
about the coming Christ child, a tiny baby at the center of everything, today
we are inserted in our text right into the trial of Jesus, just before his
crucifixion. Jesus has been arrested, and the religious leaders have brought
him to see Pontius Pilate, the Roman prefect who ruled over occupied Judea.
They seek to use his authority to have Jesus executed. Pilate questions them,
and asks what crime Jesus has committed, but they’re vague in their answers,
saying only that they wouldn’t have brought him if he wasn’t a criminal. So
Pilate goes back to speak to Jesus. “Are you the King of the Jews?” he asks.
Pilate cuts to the chase. He only really cares if someone is trying to start a
revolutionary movement that would usurp his authority, or at least threaten his
regime and cause trouble, warfare, in the region he’s responsible for. He and
Jesus have an intriguing exchange, where you sense that every question and
statement is layered with multiple meanings. “Why do you ask?” Jesus responds.
He essentially wants to know if this is Pilate’s own question, or if someone
put him up to it. Pilate responds with his own question. “Am I a Jew? Your own
people handed you over. What have you done?” Pilate gives off the aura that he
can hardly be troubled by this internal strife of this small sect of people
over whom he has power.

Jesus answers, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my
kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from
being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” In
other words, Jesus lets Pilate know that he isn’t out to start a revolution –
at least, not a revolution that would result in Pilate losing his power. Not a
military coup. In fact, just before this scene, Jesus stopped his disciples
from fighting the guards who arrested him. Not a violent political overthrow –
that’s not what Jesus’ kingdom is about, not how Jesus gets his power. But
Pilate picks up on the way Jesus responds – Jesus has admitted that he does have a kingdom, and Pilate zeros in
on that. “So you are a king?” Jesus answers
carefully, making sure to say nothing he doesn’t mean, while aware that he and
Pilate are talking about two different things, even if they are both talking
about kings and kingdoms. “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and
for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs
to the truth listens to my voice.” Jesus is the king of truth. The authority of
truth.

Jesus is trying to convey the idea to
Pilate that whatever idea of king Pilate has in his mind, whatever the people
are saying about Jesus, they’ve got the wrong picture – the wrong understanding
of king altogether. Jesus is
something different than what people are saying or thinking about him. Jesus is
unwilling, even when it is about to cost him his life, to let Pilate define
him, or to let the crowds define him, or let accusers define him. “Are you the
king of the Jews,” Pilate asks? “You might say so,” Jesus seems to be saying, “but
the kingdom I’m bringing is a completely different one than you’re expecting,
and I’m ruling with a different kind of authority.”

That’s what I think we
need to be sure of on this Sunday: What kingdom are we a part of? Who is our
king? And, toughest of all: Do we accept this king as the authority of our
lives?

What
kind of kingdom? All the
time Jesus is talking about God’s kingdom – all the parables, all the lessons,
they all point to the kingdom of God. We can rightly assume that Jesus is some
kind of king. But in everything that Jesus does, in everything he teaches, in
the ways he lives, in all these things, Jesus is painting the picture of a
kingdom that isn’t one people would recognize. We talked about this last
Sunday: Jesus speaks of a kingdom where first is last and last is first, where
those who are humbled are exalted, and the exalted are humbled. He talks about
an order of society where the poor are the blessed, where the humble see God,
where the peacemakers inherit the earth. He talks about a kingdom where typical
dividing lines of race and gender and class and place of origin don’t matter as
much as how one treats the other. He talks about a kingdom where one is meant
to love even enemies. He talks about God as a Ruler of this kingdom who cares
for and loves even – especially – the least member of the kingdom. He talks
about a God as Ruler who will search for us at all costs, and considers us of
extreme value. And for Jesus to be king of this kingdom, he dons a crown of
thorns, submits to death on a cross, and asks us to follow, giving up the lives
we know in order to claim the abundant lives God promises. When we celebrate
the Christ, the King, we’re meant to remind ourselves of just what kind of
kingdom we’re signing up to be part of. Jesus tells Pilate “My kingdom
is not from this world.” I think our immediate response is to understand Jesus
as saying that his kingdom is instead from heaven – it is otherworldly, godly,
not earthly. But I think Jesus is saying that his kingdom isn’t part of the
world we know – it isn’t part of the
typical structure we recognize – it
isn’t something that fits nicely into the world we experience. Instead, the
kingdom that Jesus brings is one that transforms
the world we know.

What kind of king? It is about putting
the emphasis in the right place. This Sunday is perhaps not about the fact that
Jesus is King, but about the fact
that Jesus is King. Do you hear
the difference? This Sunday is not about the fact that one characteristic of
Jesus is his Kingship, his divine royal status, one characteristic among many
others. Instead, this Sunday celebrates the fact that it is Christ who is
supposed to be placed as King, or highest authority, in our lives. We spent the
last several weeks talking about what is enough
in our lives, and especially thinking about our money and our stuff.
Sometimes we act as though it is our desire and drive for more that is actually
the authority in our lives – when we let the want of more make our decisions.
Addictions can become the authority in our lives. Personal success. Other
people. Anything we make more important than God, than following Jesus, has
become our true King. Who is your
king, really?

Toughest
of all: Do we accept the authority, the
kingship, the reign of Christ in our lives? Is Jesus the ultimate authority
in your life? How? In what ways does Jesus have authority over you? Jesus won’t
force your obedience. Jesus doesn’t coerce us. Remember, this king is powerful
in weakness, strong in humility. But just like with Pilate, Jesus always turns
the questions back to us. Is Jesus king? Is Jesus your king? If not, then who
or what? Who will you follow?